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Procedure price report · Other therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system

Removal of chest lymph nodes during chest surgery

CPT 38746the billing code this page is about

Removal of lymph nodes from the area between the lungs and alongside the windpipe; billed in addition to the main chest operation performed at the same time.

Hospitals typically charge $525 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 258 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $631. Most fall between $301 and $1,569 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
258
States
43
Filings dated
Jun 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 258 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$139$349$525$1,123$2,769

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 20× what the cheapest tenth charges ($139 vs $2,769).

How the prices are spread

$72 – $111: 5 hospitals$72$111 – $172: 14 hospitals$172 – $267: 16 hospitals$172$267 – $412: 35 hospitals$412 – $638: 62 hospitals$412$638 – $987: 42 hospitals$987 – $1,528: 20 hospitals$987$1,528 – $2,364: 23 hospitals$2,364 – $3,658: 7 hospitals$2,364$3,658 – $5,660: 10 hospitals$3,658median $525price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (234 of 258 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$72$1115
$111$17214
$172$26716
$267$41235
$412$63862
$638$98742
$987$1,52820
$1,528$2,36423
$2,364$3,6587
$3,658$5,66010

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $525.

Alaska: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWAIdaho: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $450 across 14 hospitalsIL$450Wisconsin: median $2,123 across 25 hospitalsWI$2,123Michigan: median $641 across 29 hospitalsMI$641New York: median $508 across 20 hospitalsNY$508Massachusetts: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMAOregon: median $383 across 10 hospitalsOR$383Nevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $525 across 18 hospitalsIA$525Indiana: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureINOhio: median $912 across 11 hospitalsOH$912Pennsylvania: median $154 across 15 hospitalsPA$154New Jersey: median $5,110 across 13 hospitalsNJ$5,110Connecticut: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceRICalifornia: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCAUtah: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceUTColorado: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceDEArizona: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTNNorth Carolina: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNCSouth Carolina: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSCOklahoma: median $349 across 10 hospitalsOK$349Louisiana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureLAMississippi: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMSAlabama: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureGAHawaii: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureTXFlorida: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureFL
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $525. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ13$5,110+874%$3,986 – $5,855
Wisconsin WI25$2,123+305%$968 – $2,123
Ohio OH11$912+74%$425 – $1,071
Michigan MI29$641+22%$301 – $1,252
Iowa IA18$5250%$525 – $579
New York NY20$508−3%$242 – $10,283
Illinois IL14$450−14%$433 – $1,158
Oregon OR10$383−27%$383 – $493
Oklahoma OK10$349−34%$349 – $349
Pennsylvania PA15$154−71%$130 – $1,603
California CA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Florida FL6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Indiana IN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Texas TX3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Colorado CO2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Georgia GA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Carolina NC2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Washington WA2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Louisiana LA1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Tennessee TN1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $525.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care202$514$272 – $1,343
Children’s6fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access49$702$425 – $2,123
Ownership
For-profit17fewer than 20 hospitals
Government29$522$345 – $1,252
Non-profit211$525$301 – $1,740
System affiliation
Part of a system213$525$301 – $1,740
Independent45$511$353 – $975

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$656
Median cash price$525
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

181 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $451 and the average of the middle 60% is $523; most fall between $289 and $1,252.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 181 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$139$337$451$812$2,123

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($139 vs $2,123).

Of the 201 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 181 gave a usable cash price; 16 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 4 a list price only.

How complete is this

258 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (7%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 309 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted258
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here36
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded14
Hospitals that filed this code309

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Other therapeutic procedures, hemic and lymphatic system family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Thorcom Thrc W/Medstnl & Regional Lmphadec.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Removal of chest lymph nodes during chest surgery (CPT 38746) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-38746-removal-of-chest-lymph-nodes-during-chest-surgery